Hurricane Ike Information

This web-site will be updated as often as we have accurate information available to report to the owners.

As of October 3rd, we can report the following:

We have run temporary power to the majority of the east building and continue to bring units on line daily. As of 10-3-08, Units 100 - 329 have power and are able to be occupied. Units 130 - 345 are expected to have power no later than Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

The electricians are in the process of ordering and obtaining all of the necessary materials to permanently replace the electrical distribution systems throughout the property (all 276 unit meters located in the parking areas and all single and three phase power panels that control common areas). Centerpoint is also in the process of determining if their main transformers located throughout the property will have to be replaced. Because of the expense and labor involved, the decision as to whether or not to run temporary power to the west building will be discussed by the Board at their October 11th meeting.

The following systems also sustained water damage and are not in working order, but are in the process of being replaced:

Elevator mechanical equipment - all 4 elevators

Pool Pumps and Heater - both pools

Telephone Service (the main AT&T switch for our area is being re-built)

Television / Satellite System (some stations are working, but reception is intermittent)

We have inspected all 276 units and found very limited damage inside. However, we have found evidence of some wind driven rain in about 60 of the units; in most cases, minor staining on the ceiling in the living area. We have been meeting with insurance adjusters to determine how to handle these issues and will update this information as it becomes available.

Because the lobby/office areas and meeting rooms had 2 feet of water in them, all of the furniture, work stations and filing cabinets were ruined. We lost all files located in the bottom 2 drawers of the offices; crucial files were taken off site as part of our hurricane procedure. The majority of the computer systems were spared damage from rising water; however, the humidity after the storm may cause residual damage which we will be monitoring.

We also lost many of our power tools and equipment such as pressure washers, carpet shampoo machines, vacuums etc. We are in the process of finding replacement products for these items.

Owners of private units who may have left non-perishable items in their units or refrigerators should plan to have those items removed immediately. If this has not already been done, the refrigerator door should be thoroughly taped shut and the refrigerator removed from the property.

Many of our staff members had considerable damage to their homes and some have chosen to move away from Galveston. We will have challenges in rebuilding our team, however, we are proud to say that many of our team have returned to work with their sleeves rolled up, ready to get Casa back on track.

The front office is currently open during limited hours (8am - 6pm). We have a courtesy patrol officer available from 6pm until 8am daily in the event of an emergency. The Rental Association is open for business, although operating with limited inventory and without on-site computer systems.

From a City wide perspective, there are many issues still to be addressed:

The entire city is under a "boil water" warning because it is not safe to drink the tap water at this point.

The beaches are closed due to high levels of bacteria, as are the surrounding bay areas.

There are massive cleanup efforts under way and the City has hired a multitude of contractors who are making progress every day. The old Sea Aramda property is being used as the primary dump site for debris and you can see hundreds of 18 wheelers lined up daily participating in the debris removal program.

Mail service to the island is getting back on track. As of today, Casa del Mar still has to pick up mail in LaMarque, but we are hopeful that will change soon.

The Galveston Police and Firefighters have been working tirelessly to protect the city. Curfew for the entire island is currently 8pm; however we expect this to be changed as time passes. City leaders and their staffs have also been working around the clock to overcome the never ending list of issues and challenges the storm brought to the island.

The Salvation Army has been a blessing to so many residents and relief workers - and to the staff at Casa. They have provided hot meals, water and ice to literally thousands of people over the past few weeks.

Many businesses and restaurants are closed, however, this is changing by the day as more and more services are restored and damages are repaired.

We understand that not having telephone service at the property is very inconvenient. We are monitoring the situation with AT&T on a daily basis in an effort to restore this service as soon as possible. Until that time, please continue to monitor our web-site as we will update it as new developments occur.